Effect of Soil Application of Dairy Manure on Germination and Emergence of Some Selected Crops1

D. C. Adriano,

A. C. Chang,

P. F. Pratt and

R. Sharpless2

Abstract

Abstract

Germination and emergence of sudangrass (Sorghum sudanense Stapf ‘Piper’), barley (Hordeum vulgare L. ‘Numar’), radish (Raphanus sativus L. ‘Cherry Belle’), and spinach (Spinacea oleracea L. ‘Bloomsdale’) in a glasshouse were investigated using a Chino loam soil where various amounts (0, 5, 10, 15, and 20% dry manure by weight) of dairy manure were added. The degree of germination injury depended on the crop species and rate of application or the salt and N inputs. The crop sensitivity to salt or NH3 were as follows: barley < sudangrass and spinach < radish. Barley and sudangrass were more tolerant to salt or NH3 than spinach and radish. Barley germination data from treatments which had NaCl added to the soil extracts to obtain the same osmotic potential as those treated with urine, urea, or manure suggest that the germination injury was not salt specific and that other compounds such as NH3 were also contributing factors.

Germination injury can be minimized by planting several days after soil application of large amounts of dairy or feedlot manure to allow volatilization of a significant quantity of NH3 or after adequate preirrigation, or both.

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